By Christopher Shaw · Contributing Writer
The Grove City College women’s volleyball team bounced back from its first loss of the season at Muskingum with three wins at the Brockport Invitational.
Grove City defeated St. Lawrence 3-1 Friday. The team took down Brockport State 3-1 and swept Hilbert Saturday.
Grove City won the first two sets 25-21 and 25-11 against St. Lawrence and then dropped the third 21-25. The Wolverines stormed back to take the final set 25-11 and win the match. The Saints were outdueled, .114 to .268, in hitting percentage.
Senior Sarah Hart led the team with 16 kills. Sophomore Taylor Ripple and junior Lilly Pool added another nine and eight, respectively. Pool’s hitting percentage of .583 was especially impressive on 12 chances.
Junior Brooke Manfull topped the Grove City stats with 21 assists, while senior Sarah Harris contributed 14. Senior Kendra Klusch also tied her career-high with three service aces.
“This week in practice, we were really focused on each teammate getting at least 1 percent better every day,” Manfull said. “I think that really helped us improve individually, which then contributed to our success as a whole this weekend. Our focus in practice helped us stay consistent on the court throughout the weekend.”
The Wolverines took down Brockport 25-23, 25-16, 19-25 and 25-20. A 5-0 Grove City run in the fourth set helped close out the Golden Eagles.
Hart led the Wolverines once again with 13 kills. Senior Alayna Dorst also added 10 along with Pool’s eight. Manfull and Harris once again recorded double-digit assists — 18 and 17, respectively. Harris’s four service aces also tied her career best.
“We did really well at adapting to the other team and coming back from dropping a set. In both the Brockport and St. Lawrence games, we came back after dropping a set and beat them decidedly,” Hart said. “This will be especially important for PAC games since the other teams will attack our weaknesses from the start, so it will be important that we know how to adapt.”
In the final match, Grove City swept Hilbert 25-12, 25-17 and 25-18. The Wolverines held the Hawks to a low .066 hitting percentage and rotated players throughout the match, allowing 15 of their rostered 18 to hit the court.
“I think we’re really confident going into play,” freshman Sarah Bookmiller said. “When we play our own game, no one can stop us.”
Freshman Reagan Riordan recorded her first collegiate kill along with two aces.
“I honestly just love how there’s no selfishness, and everyone just wants each other to become better and to glorify God in our play,” Riordan said. “I think that’s really important when you’re coming into a new team and you have no idea what’s going to happen.”
Freshman Caitlin Penola also played in all three sets, logging nine digs and an ace.
“Our freshmen have immediately bought into the team culture we had already established last year,” Hart said. “They are all super hard-working and just really want what’s best for the team, which helped improve our culture even more.”
The Wolverines, now 8-1, will wrap up non-conference action this weekend with a home invitational. Grove City faces Marietta and Mount St. Joseph Friday. Albion and Penn State-Behrend follow Saturday.
“We’re very excited to be at home this weekend and play in front of our fans. I think our mindset is to continue building off this past weekend in Brockport and keep competing at a high level,” Manfull said. “There are some good teams coming this weekend, and we’re really looking to improve with every match we play so we can prepare for our upcoming conference games.”
